September a good month for books
Pat St. Germain reveals a new crop of interesting titles.
Machine Without Horses Helen Humphreys Harpercollins
A life story in two moving parts, this gem of a novel is as unique as the woman who inspired it.
The first half is non-fiction. Mourning a series of losses — six deaths within a cruelly short timespan — writer Helen Humphreys happens upon an obituary of legendary salmon-fly tier Megan Boyd, who devoted most of her waking hours to her craft for more than half a century, working in a shed near her cottage in the north of Scotland.
An eccentric — she once sent a note to Queen Elizabeth II explaining she couldn’t attend a ceremony to receive a British Empire Medal because she didn’t have anyone to take care of her dog. Boyd lived alone, without electricity or running water. She wore men’s jackets, rode a motorcycle and loved going to country dances. Intimately acquainted with the natural life cycles of spawning salmon, and adept at helping fishers lure them to an early death, she nevertheless hated to see them die.
Humphreys finds points of personal connection as she researches Boyd’s life and considers how she’ll write an imagined version of it. And like a magician who explains how she’s going to perform a trick and still wows her audience with the illusion, she carries it off in the second part, and goes one better: Spinning a compelling tale that blends fact and fiction, she delivers a transcendent life-honouring work. (Available now.)
Inkling Kenneth Oppel Harpercollins
A comic-book artist’s inkblot springs to life and rescues a family in crisis in this fast-paced adventure for kids eight to 12 from the author of the award-winning Silverwing series. After escaping from a sketchbook, unlikely hero Inkling quickly befriends young Ethan Rylance, helping him ace a Grade 6 art project before fulfilling a greater purpose. Ethan and younger sister Sarah’s dad is a famous graphic artist whose creative well ran dry after his wife died, and he isn’t doing so well on the parenting front, either. But everything changes when Inkling brings a little magic into their lives — and into the lives of a pair of villains who want to harness that magic for themselves. Illustrated by Sydney Smith, Inkling hits the spot on multiple levels, with schoolyard rivalries, family drama and a high-adrenalinw rescue mission rolled into one satisfying tale. (Slated for release Tuesday.)
The Lotterys More or Less Emma Donoghue Harpercollins
Two dads, two moms, seven kids and one grandpa made for one big chaotic family in the 2017 award-winning novel for young readers The Lotterys Plus One, from celebrated Irish-canadian writer Emma Donoghue (Room). Things get even more chaotic this time out, when an ice storm hits Toronto a few days before Christmas. Dad Papadum and oldest child Sic are delayed in India when their flight home is grounded, while a visitor from Brazil is stranded at the Lotterys’ sprawling home.
Determined to maintain family traditions, nine-year-old Sumac has prepared a schedule of events to keep everyone on track, but you know what happens to the best-laid plans. Luckily, the wildly diverse family and friends in their equally diverse neighbourhood are a resilient bunch. The novel is aimed at children ages eight to 12. (Due out on
Sept. 25.)